Adjoining the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and facing the pavement which belonged to the outer court …: The building of rooms north of the west building was between the Temple’s inner and outer courtyards. On its south side it was Adjoining the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, that is, it was next to the 10 meter (34 foot) wide courtyard plaza that surrounded the Temple (see 41.10). On its north side it was facing the pavement which belonged to the outer court, that is, it was next to the paved walkway that was in front of the rooms on the inside of the walls of the outer courtyard (see 40.17). Complete Jewish Bible provides a helpful model for the beginning of this verse, saying “It was located between the inner courtyard, which was thirty-five feet wide, and the flooring of the outer courtyard.” Instead of twenty cubits, the Septuagint has “gateways.” The Hebrew words for twenty cubits and “gateways” are very similar. The Septuagint reading is clearly a mistake (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project), since Ezekiel is not referring to gateways in this context.

Ezekiel describes the building itself as a gallery against gallery in three stories. Gallery renders the unknown Hebrew term that we understood as decorative “ledges” in 41.15-16, but here these “ledges” (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) seem to have been much larger because the width of the building reduced noticeably as the “ledges” became wider (see verses 5-6). They may have been “balconies” (New Century Version) or open areas on the roofs of lower rooms (so Good News Translation with “It was built on three levels, each one set further back than the one below it”). Even though it is not certain exactly what these galleries or balconies were, scholars agree that the building was three stories high, that is, there were three levels of rooms built one above the other. A gallery or a “balcony” is a platform that extends out from a building. In regions where buildings with “balconies” are not known or common, translators may say “platforms that extended out from the building.” There is no reason to assume that there were two identical rows of rooms facing each other (so New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation).

A model for this verse is:

• On one side of the building was the 10 meter wide plaza of the inner courtyard. On the other side was the [paved] walkway of the outer courtyard. The building itself was three stories high. It had balconies.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

You shall also take the bull of the sin offering: Next God tells Ezekiel to take the young bull that has been killed for the people’s sins (see verse 19). Translators may say “You must also take the young bull that the priests have killed so I forgive the people’s sins.”

And it shall be burnt in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area: It shall be burnt is literally “he [someone] will burn it,” which means Ezekiel will not burn the carcass of the bull himself, but he will tell someone else, perhaps some of the priests (so Revised English Bible), or other Temple personnel, to do it. A model that reflects this sense is “Tell someone to burn it” or “Have someone burn it.” However, many translations render this phrase as if it were an imperative, telling Ezekiel to burn it (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Christian Community Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Since the person who burns the dead bull would become ritually unclean, it is not likely that Ezekiel would have been given that task. Therefore we recommend the first interpretation. The bull’s carcass is to be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area. It is not known where this place was. The Hebrew word for appointed place can refer to a mustering area, where people or soldiers gather together, but Ezekiel does not mention a place like this in the Temple compound or its surrounding area. The place was outside the sacred area, which could mean outside the Temple building itself. If so, the appointed place might be the appointed place for sacrifices, namely, the altar itself, which was outside the Temple. The altar certainly could be described as belonging to the temple. However, it would be the only instance where Ezekiel describes the altar in this way, and it is a very unusual way of describing it. Alternatively, the appointed place may have been a place somewhere outside the whole compound of the Temple that had been set aside specifically for burning what was left over from the sacrifices. If it had been set aside, or appointed, for this purpose, it is easy to see how Ezekiel could describe it as belonging to the temple. On the whole, this seems the better interpretation. A model for the whole clause with this interpretation is “and [you will tell] others to burn it in the place outside the Temple walls that has been set aside for the Temple [for this purpose].” Block has made the interesting suggestion that in this context the Hebrew word for appointed place actually refers to an appointed person, somebody like a Temple guard, whose role it was to burn such leftovers. This is also a possible interpretation, which could be expressed as “and tell the person who has the responsibility for burning it to burn it outside the Temple walls.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

After he is defiled, he shall count for himself seven days, and then he shall be clean: For this verse Revised Standard Version follows the ancient Syriac translation, as do Revised English Bible and Moffatt for some parts. Translators should not follow this model. The Hebrew text reads literally “And after his purification, they shall count seven days for him” (similarly New King James Version , English Standard Version). In some languages, the phrase “after his purification” may be too abrupt, and the steps of touching a dead body, becoming defiled, and then being made clean may need to be made clear; for example, Contemporary English Version says “If a priest touches a dead body, he is unclean and must go through a ceremony to make himself clean.” “They shall count seven days for him” is the equivalent of the passive clause “seven days shall be counted off for him” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). This clause may be rendered “he must wait seven days” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version; similarly New Living Translation, Complete Jewish Bible). A model for this verse is:

• If a priest touches the dead body of a relative, he becomes ritually unclean. He must then go through the ceremony to become clean again. After he has become clean again, he must wait for seven days [or, one week].

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

At the feasts and the appointed seasons …: This verse describes what offerings the king must give at the feasts, that is, the three main religious festivals (see 45.17), and the appointed seasons, that is, any other religious ceremonies (compare 45.17). He must give one young bull, one ram, and presumably six lambs, along with the set amount of grain or flour and olive oil. For the cereal offering with a young bull shall be an ephah, see Ezek 46.6; for with a ram an ephah, and with the lambs as much as one is able to give, together with a hin of oil to an ephah, see Ezek 46.5. A model for this verse is:

• “For each of the regular festivals and the other ceremonies to worship me [God], the king must bring a young bull, a male sheep and the lambs to sacrifice. He must also bring a container [or, bag] of grain for each bull and each male sheep, and as much as he wants for the lambs, as well as one container [or, jug] of olive oil for each container of grain.

However, some scholars think that this verse describes what each of the worshipers must bring to sacrifice at the religious ceremonies. If so, the young bull, the ram, and the lambs are likely to be alternatives, and the worshipers need only bring one of them. A model for this interpretation is:

• “When the people come to worship me at the main festivals and the other ceremonies, for an offering they must bring a young bull with a bag of flour, or a male sheep with a bag of flour, or a young sheep with as much flour as they choose to give. They must also bring a jug of olive oil with each bag of flour.

The first interpretation is preferable, because it would have been a large financial burden for ordinary worshipers to bring any of these animals.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

In whatever tribe the alien resides may be rendered “in the tribe where a foreign resident has settled” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible) or “in the tribe where an alien resident lives.”

There you shall assign him his inheritance: Foreigners must receive a share of the land in the area where they live; they will be treated as part of the tribe, as if they were ordinary Israelites. This is a radical new approach to the treatment of foreigners in the Bible. Beforehand, under the law of Moses, they had to be well-treated and not oppressed, but now they are to be treated as full Israelites.

Says the Lord GOD is the formula for a solemn, formal declaration by God (see the comments on 5.11;). Here it is used to stress the importance of what God has just said. For the Lord GOD, see verse 13.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .